Review: The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
Susan Granger
Susan Granger's review of "THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR" (Columbia Pictures)
Since movies, on the average, take a year - from the
beginning of filming to theatrical debut - it's interesting that three
similar glitzy, high-tech, virtual reality thrillers - "The Matrix,"
"eXistenZ" and this - overlapped. Loosely based on Daniel Galouye's
'60s sci-fi novel "Simulacron 3," the idea revolves around a computer
that enables its user to time-travel. Only a story never develops from
the original concept of juxtaposing sepia-toned Los Angeles in 1937
with the full-color reality of the present time. Blame it on director
Josef Rusnak's and Ravel Centeno-Rodriguez' underwritten screenplay,
riddled with wooden dialogue. Computer visionary Armin Mueller-Stahl
is the first to download time-travel but he runs into foul play, which
brings his over-wrought assistant, Craig Bierko, to the rescue. Then,
when more trouble ensues, technie Vincent D'Onofrio goes back in time
too. All three encounter lovely femme fatale Gretchen Mol, who is
trying to pass herself off as Mueller-Stahl's daughter. Or is she a
check-out girl at a local grocery store? That's a question bothering
Dennis Haysbert, a detective. The visually stylish, art deco
atmosphere in the somber, cavernous simulated world is appealing but
it's not enough to sustain interest as the plot evaporates. Craig
Bierko seems like a poor man's Alex Baldwin, complete with a two-day
beard growth, while Gretchen Mol works hard at evoking Marilyn Monroe
but she's weak. Neither displays an ounce of screen charisma in this
ultimate bad trip. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "The
Thirteenth Floor" is a self-destructing 3. Cyberspace confusion 3D
Existential poppycock.
Nathaniel R. Atcheson
A capsule review by Nathaniel R. Atcheson
Director: Josef Rusnak
Cast: Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Vincent
D'Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert, Steve Schub
Screenplay: Josef Rusnak, Ravel Centeno-Rodriguez
Producers: Roland Emmerich, Ute Emmerich, Marco Weber
Runtime:
US Distribution: Columbia
Rated R: Violence, language
Copyright 1999 Nathaniel R. Atcheson
The Thirteenth Floor is a bland, obligatory exercise in genre
film-making. If I hadn't recently watched The Matrix and Open Your Eyes
-- both of which are similar but far superior -- I might have been a
little nicer to this picture. Craig Bierko makes an adequate hero as
Douglas Hall, the rich co-creator of a perfect human world simulation
who is suddenly blamed for the murder of his boss (Armin
Mueller-Stahl). Everything that was subtle and smart about the
previously mentioned films is battered over our heads in this one, and
characters stare at each other for maddeningly-long periods of time and
refuse to communicate on any realistic level. The acting is okay, but
the film suffers from every logical flaw one could think of, and
features a script (co-penned by director Josef Rusnak) loaded with
cliches and stock characters. There are individual scenes and ideas
that work -- I like the thought of a sentient computer program -- but
none of the film's strengths are recognized to any meaningful degree.
Producer Roland Emmerich, based on this and his previous directorial
efforts, seems hell-bent on bringing us the ultimate standard in
mediocre science-fiction.
Psychosis Rating: 4/10
**********/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\************
Visit FILM PSYCHOSIS at
http://www.pyramid.net/natesmovies
Nathaniel R. Atcheson
**********/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\************
DeWyNGaLe
The Thirteenth Floor, the third in what I would call "the reality check movie
series", is very similar to the other reality check movies released this year,
The Matrix and eXistenZ. All three made you think, made you wonder what is
real, what isn't, and if our world is just a huge game. The Thirteenth Floor
doesn't reach the level of originality, creativity, and curiosity sparked by
The Matrix and eXistenZ, but it certainly gives a great shot at it. In The
Matrix, we were told that the humans are simply a virus. In eXistenZ, we
learned that our life could be just a game. In The Thirteenth Floor, we learn
that we are just electronic devices, living under another world of electronic
devices. There is just one world on top of another, and everything in them are
fake and electronically generated.
The Thirteenth Floor took a huge, risky turn that I didn't expect it to take,
and I'm not very sure it was such a great turn to make. Rather than focusing
just on the reality parts of the film, The Thirteenth Floor becomes a murder
mystery that ends up tying in with the different worlds. After the mysterious
murder of computer program designer Hammond Fuller, played by Armin
Mueller-Stahl, Douglas Hall, played by Craig Bierko, a man that worked under
Fuller for many years, must travel through an electronic computer device that
Fuller was using, to the year 1937, which consists of computer generated
characters only. The simulation of 1937 is just like it was back in the olden
days. All of the people involved are just characters, or are they? Douglas
strongly believes that a character traveled through the transport from their
world to ours, and killed Fuller. Along the way, Douglas interacts with many
different potential suspects, and a woman who claims to be the daughter of
Fuller, Jane Fuller, played wonderfully by a talented young actress, Gretchen
Mol.
The Thirteenth Floor is a plot driven movie from the time the film gets going,
and doesn't use spectacular special effects and big sound to keep the viewer's
interests. I was worried that this film would be too much like The Matrix and
eXistenZ, and I wouldn't enjoy it, but there were enough twists and turns to
keep me thinking and attentive to the film. Unfortunately, many potential
would have been great scenes were thrown away with predictable content, letting
the viewer know the outcome of the scene long before it happened. The scenes
that aren't original or interesting seem to go absolutely nowhere, leaving you
wondering, " What is the point of this?"
Sometimes it was hard to believe that this story, with terrible dialogue, some
bad acting, especially from Craig Bierko, and scenes that go absolutely
nowhere, are actually true. I know this isn't a true story or anything, but a
film should be able to make you think that it is. On the plus side of acting,
we get to see the missing from main character action since the film masterpiece
Shine in 1995 actor, Armin Mueller-Stahl. In The Thirteenth Floor, he is back
and is still giving believable and amazing performances. Another plus is
Gretchen Mol's realistic performance, creating her character with depth, not
just staying in the one-dimensional phase.
Don't expect the intensity of The Matrix or eXistenZ to come out of The
Thirteenth Floor, just expect another film that messes with your mind for
awhile, and shuts you down like any other movie would. Thrills, chills, and
spills aren't what you will get in this film, but you will just get another
trip to send your mind on, scrambling it until you've had enough.
The Bottom Line- Let's hope this is the last of the "reality check" based
movies for awhile.
Steve Rhodes
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
If you ever find yourself in a simulated world, don't tell the natives.
It can be very upsetting to learn that your flesh and blood is just a
stream of bits on someone's computer.
Opening with the "I think, therefore I am" quote of Descartes, Josef
Rusnak's THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR serves notice that this is a pretentious
movie. Indeed, the script by Josef Rusnak and Ravel Centeno-Rodriguez,
based on Daniel F. Galouye's novel "Simulacron 3," does a masterful job
of setting up a plot with an intriguing premise. With shades of THE
TRUMAN SHOW and THE MATRIX, the movie takes so much risk that it is a
shame that about its only memorable parts are the cinematography and the
set decoration.
A billion dollar software company lead by Hammond Fuller (Armin
Mueller-Stahl) has just finished creating the ultimate virtual reality
system. Fuller's company, housed in a large building, appears to have
only 2 employees, a pair of programmers named Douglas Hall (Craig
Bierko) and Whitney (Vincent D'Onofrio). All 3 characters have
counterparts in the simulated world that their system creates.
The present is a hazy, neon blue world filled with bright laser beams,
ominous skyscrapers and dark supercomputers. The simulated past is set
in a handsome 1937. Colored in hazy sepia tones, this attractive world
features showgirls that dance the night away to big bands. The sets in
the past are art deco masterpieces. Between the two, the choice is
easy; go for the inviting past.
As the story opens, Fuller is in the past but quickly makes his way back
to the present, where he is murdered. A scruffy, black cop, Detective
Larry McBain (Dennis Haysbert), dressed in classic film noir garb, tries
to investigate this multiple-reality murder. Complicating his
investigation is the appearance of a woman named Jane Fuller (Gretchen
Mol), who claims to be the daughter of the dead man. Since Hammond
Fuller had no known relatives, this confuses everyone.
As the mystery deepens, the story has our two software designers getting
on and off the laser light table that transports them between
timeframes.
The film's coldly antiseptic present matches all too perfectly the style
of the acting. None of the characters has any warmth or genuineness.
The screenplay has so many logical holes and out-of-left-field events
that you're liable to end up snickering at it, as our audience did. And
suspension of disbelief is a prerequisite. If you're a grownup and have
never been out of town, take this as a sign that something may not be
quite right in your world.
Still, for all of its flaws, the story possesses a strange fascination,
and you're unlikely to be bored. "You can't just plug your brain into
this machine and not be affected by it," Jane says. Watching this movie
is like that. It becomes more intriguing that it has any right to be,
given its limitations.
If you want a good science fiction film, then this frustrating one may
not be the one for you. On the other hand, if it's a good-looking
science fiction film you're after, then look no further. THE THIRTEENTH
FLOOR is exquisite eye-candy for the sci-fi set.
THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR runs 2:00. It is rated R for violence and some
profanity and would be fine for teenagers.
Email: Steve....@InternetReviews.com
Web: www.InternetReviews.com
Mark R Leeper
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: The third artificial reality film in
about a month is the most stylish and best
photographed with the most coherent plotline. Had
this been the first of the three to be released, it
would be recognized as the best. Roland Emmerich
finally has produced a quality science fiction
film. Rating: 8 (0 to 10), high +2 (-4 to +4)
The year is 1937. As our story opens we follow an elderly man
(played by Armin Mueller-Stahl) from his mistress's bedroom to a
nightclub. He leaves a letter he has written someone in the care of a
bartender (Vincent D'Onofrio) and goes home to his wife. As he lies in
bed, suddenly he is propelled into the present. The world of 1937 was a
fully functioning world, realistic is every respect but one. It was
not actually real but a total computer simulation. And it was a very
complete computer simulation. It is not just a virtual reality program
creating for one person what could be a three-dimensional world. Each
person in the 1937 world has a life and personality of his or her own
and continues even when there is nobody to see him. It is an entire
virtual world functioning on its own. And our elderly gentleman is
Hammond Fuller, "the Einstein of our generation" who created the
cyber-world. But tonight Hammond Fuller is going to be murdered and
suspicion will fall on his chief programmer Douglas Hall (Craig
Bierko). Hall and his friend and coworker Whitney (Vincent D'Onofrio)
have worked for Hammond for years and think that they know him fairly
well. Now that he is dead, they are not so sure. A daughter (Gretchen
Mol) has turned up mysteriously and nobody knew Fuller had a daughter.
Discovered also is that Fuller has been repeatedly projecting himself
into his created world of 1937. Even Hall had not realized that was
possible yet. Now Hall will have to solve a mystery spread across two
different worlds.
Part of what makes this film as remarkable as it is is that it
comes from Centropolis Film Productions, Roland Emmerich's company.
Until now the best thing we have seen coming from Centropolis is their
imaginative opening banner. However, the approach for THE THIRTEENTH
FLOOR is entirely different from that of STARGATE, INDEPENDENCE DAY,
and GODZILLA. Director Josef Rusnak, experienced mostly in European
films, has kept the use of special effects modest. Rather than having
a visual carnival, this film is instead intelligent and filmed with a
great deal of visual style. Cinematographer Wedigo von
Schultzendorff's style uses relatively modest special effects. His
views of 1937 Los Angeles are lush and gorgeous, generally filmed with
a sepia filter to give us a Los Angeles where Philip Marlowe would feel
right at home. von Schultzendorff has made his modern-day Los Angeles
looks like a giant electric-blue circuit pack. Where the 1937 city has
a rich period feel, 1999 feels electronic and electrically charged.
Rather than paying expensive stars, Rusnak has two little known
actors, Craig Bierko and Gretchen Mol, in the two top-billed positions.
He has saved the familiar faces for supporting roles. His familiar
actors are more known for good performances than for powerhouse marquee
value. Armin Mueller-Stahl had a long career in Germany and now
frequently appears in English-language films including SHINE, THE GAME,
and THE X FILES. Vincent D'Onofrio has also been a familiar character
actor since his pivotal role as a somewhat retarded Marine recruit in
FULL METAL JACKET.
So now we have had released in about a month three films about
worlds that seem real but are in reality created in computers. We can
see how three different filmmakers have each handled the theme in an
action-adventure. This is a rare opportunity. The Wachowskis created
in THE MATRIX a future world that was visually imaginative and gave us
a plot that to a very great extent was chases, fighting, and martial
arts. David Cronenberg's worlds in "eXistenZ" are basically our world,
but ones where the line between the totally inanimate and the
biological is breaking down. Josef Rusnak has dusted off the 1964
science fiction novel SIMULACRON-3 by Daniel F. Galouye, toned down the
Frederik Pohl aspects (in the novel the world are used to predict
public opinion) and played up the Philip K. Dick aspects. He has given
us a beautiful sepia-toned view of the 1930s to compare with an
electrically charged view of the present. Perhaps which you prefer
says something about you. THE MATRIX will clearly be the most
profitable, but THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR is the one I want in my
collection. I rate the latter film 8 on the 0 to 10 scale and a high
+2 on the -4 to +4 scale. (Oh, and when we see a newspaper toward the
end, June 21 should be a Friday, not a Monday.)
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@lucent.com
Copyright 1999 Mark R. Leeper
James Brundage
Directed by Josef Rusnak
Written by Josef Rusnak and Ravel Centeno-Rodreguiz
Based on the novel "Simulacron 3" by Daniel F. Galouye
Starring Craig Berko, Gretchen Mol, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert, and
Armin Mueller-Stahl
As Reviewed by James Brundage
All right, we know we've reached a new level when every the completely
surreal seems completely predictable. When the weird is the norm, something
is very, very wrong. Right now you're saying something along the lines of
"Come on: since when have we been able to predict movies that make no sense
whatsoever?"
The answer: ever since The Thirteenth Floor.
Either gifted or cursed (depending on your mindset) with a complex
plot, The Thirteenth Floor is the first movie that the blundering idiot of a
producer Roland Emmerich has turned out that has any plot at all. The
lesson to be learned from this: be careful not to use to much cooking
sherry, lest you get drunk while eating. Emmerich, normally playing the
fool as to the lack of plot he gives us, tries instead to give us too much
to be supported by the weak frame of a story that is set up.
The story, having something to do about playing God, piles onto us a
lot of unnecessary romance, uninteresting intrigue, and piss-poor subplots.
Although the plot is completely surreal and bizarre, it comes off as a mix
and mash between Dark City and The Matrix… we are all living in a virtual
reality experiment where we can never get to a certain location. In a
foolish attempt to make the story more interesting to us, The Thirteenth
Floor throws in a bit of eXistenZ to boot. This virtual reality we live in
is a recreational game of sorts which someone is trying to repair. Then,
perhaps as a personal bit to annoy intelligent viewers, it places in an
idiotic romance.
The tekkies will hate this film for one simple reason, a flaw in the
story. The way the characters discover their illusion is travelling to its
end, where they see a grid of green lines. If the programmers of this
"genius" experiment are intelligent enough to render sight, smell, taste,
touch, and sound, not to mention the consciousness of all of the characters
living inside the machine, then why the hell can't the stick them in an
indefinite loop which will send them to the other side of the simulation?
An easy wrap around? Sure, the characters would know something was wrong,
but they wouldn't be able to pinpoint it.
Now that I am finished taking apart its plot I choose to take apart the
acting. Wait, the acting is fine, but the roles are weak. Vincent
D'onofrio confirms my suspicions that he is getting all of the creative
roles left by his portrayal as both protagonist and antagonist. Seriously,
who's he bribing? Gretchen Mol, who I saw once before in Rounders, gets a
slightly better written role in this one, but still not a great part. The
movie completely makes waste of Armin Mueller-Stahl.
Can't someone pass some legislation regarding wasting good actors in
bad roles?
The one thing that I must mention at the end of this review is for
people who are interested in The Thirteenth Floor but think that Ethernet is
some kind of hospital anesthetic: for people who don't know technology,
people who don't like science fiction, and people who don't have high
standards for film, this film is fine for you. Although the characters are
underwritten, they will attach onto you like leeches and thus stick with
you. Although the plot and story are predictable to anyone who spends time
trying to figure them out, the film can be enjoyed by those willing to shut
their minds off. Just don't expect anything anywhere near as intelligent or
scary as the previews imply.
Berge Garabedian
RATING: 6.5 / 10 --> So-so
For more movie reviews and screensavers, visit http://www.joblo.com/
In what circumstance would you deem someone lucky to have been involved in
the production of the critically panned GODZILLA (6/10)? When the
circumstance is such that you are the second unit director on said project,
and big-time movie director Roland Emmerich decides to take a chance on you
in his next producing gig, which ultimately turns into this movie.
PLOT:
A virtual reality program in which one could consciously transport oneself
into another universe is at the heart of this story that begins with the
murder of the man who invented the simulation itself. When one of his prime
employees is accused of the man's murder, he must go inside the machine
himself, in order to find out who really killed his boss and how he ended up
on the most wanted list.
CRITIQUE:
It is very appropriate that the famous quote of "I think, therefore I am"
precedes this film's credit run, since "thinking" is the primary exercise to
which this movie will have you subscribe. To a certain extent, it is quite
unfortunate that this "virtual-reality" film comes on the heels of other
similarly themed ones such as THE MATRIX (7.5/10), eXistenZ (7.5/10) and
DARK CITY (9/10), since we cannot help but compare it to the others, and
depreciate from its originality which is diluted due to its repetitive
ideas. Having said that, I still did enjoy most of this film which actually
starts off feeling more like a BACK TO THE FUTURE movie than anything else.
Its grainy, vintage look also appealed to me, as did the murder mystery that
absorbed its first half.
Unfortunately for its creators, the film does seem to lose ground during its
second half, when everyone and their grandma seems to be moving from one
parallel universe to the other (One dude walked out of our screening
mumbling something about "not knowing what was real anymore"). The only
scene that confused me was the final one which did not seem to make sense to
me according to the explanations that had preceded it before, but alas, I
might've missed something. The actors were all pretty good with Mol and
D'Onofrio pulling off fine dual roles, and newcomer Craig Bierko (new to
me!) punching in his best poor man's George Clooney imitation (Nice 'burns,
tough guy!). All in all, the movie had enough mood and mystery to spark my
initial interest, enough plot to keep it going in the midsection, but
ultimately too similar in story to many of the better films specified
earlier to register in my mind as anything more than a virtual-noir sci-fi
leftover plate. By the way, if it's action or special effects you're looking
for, this film is not for you! It contains neither of the two, but does play
many a mindgame with your head, if that's your vibe.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars:
This film is based on the book "Simulacron 3" written by Daniel Galouye.
Producer Ute Emmerich is director/producer Roland Emmerich's sister.
MORE COMING SOON at JoBlo's Movie Emporium: http://www.joblo.com/
Review Date: June 1, 1999
Director: Josef Rusnak
Writers: Josef Rusnak and Ravel Centeno-Rodriguez
Producers: Roland Emmerich, Ute Emmerich and Marco Weber
Actors: Craig Bierko as Douglas Hall
Gretchen Mol as Jane Fuller
Vincent D'Onofrio as Whitney/Ashton
Genre: Science-Fiction
Year of Release: 1999
---------------------------------------
JoBlo's Movie Emporium
http://www.joblo.com
---------------------------------------
(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
Eugene Novikov
Reviewed by Eugene Novikov
http://www.ultimate-movie.com
Member: Online Film Critics Society
*** out of four
"I think therefore I am."
Starring Craig Bierko, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Gretchen Mol. Rated R.
Can there possibly be anything new to say about the concept of virtual
reality impersonating reality? In the past two years, Hollywood has
pummeled us drilled with the idea that the world as we know it may not
be what we think it to be -- films such as Dark City, The Matrix,
eXistenZ and now The Thirteenth Floor have all been brooding over the
thought. Notice that I have recommended all of the above, the reason
being that I love these kinds of movies; they have the potential to
excite my imagination and get my adrenaline flowing, if done well. Oddly
enough, these four movies have all been done well.
The Thirteenth Floor is an ambitious little movie that dares to open
with Descartes' famous quote "I think therefore I am." At first glance
it will seem ill-advised and pretentious, especially if you've seen any
promo material for the movie. But stick with it, and you'll find that
the presence of that quote in the very beginning provides the movie with
the power to stick with you for some time after it is over.
It opens with what seems like the early 19th century. We see an elderly
man (Armin Mueller-Stahl) leave a hotel (where a beautiful young girl is
peacefully sleeping on a bed), leave a note for the bartender to give to
someone else and head home. He comes home to his wife, gets into bed and
we find out that the guy is playing an elaborate computer game; indeed
he wakes up in a computer lab. Sooner than later, he is stabbed to
death. All evidence points to a young executive of the company, Douglas
Hall (Craig Bierko) to have killed him. Doug's only hope, it seems, is
to find a message that his now-deceased boss allegedly left inside the
simulation. What he finds changes his perception of reality, himself and
the people around him.
What's terrific about the first two thirds of The Thirteenth Floor is
how the movie plays out as a mystery; revealing its secret by slowly
peeling away its layers. It succeeds in keeping the deductive viewers a
half step ahead of the characters (mainly because for a corporate
executive, Douglas isn't terribly bright), but not so far that we become
bored.
Unfortunately for those that have just begun to get wrapped up in the
proceedings, the film falls apart completely towards the end. The
script, never particularly outstanding to begin with, starts to move
with undesirably rapid speed towards inanity, and the romance that
develops betweed Douglas and a beautiful woman with a dark secret
(Gretchen Mol) is not only horridly written but it is also
dissappointing as a payoff (this is what we get?!?). The ending leaves
too many loose-ends untied to be particularly satisfying, and it is also
telegraphed about 30 minutes before it actually happens so that one
pretty much knows for sure what is going to happen.
Mueller-Stahl is engaging in a role that never quite dies. Bierko is
just okay as the protagonist, although unfortunately he doesn't project
his shock at his discovery convincingly. Gretchen Mol is absolutely
dreadful in an essential role, but going into the explicit details of
her performance or her character will ruin a few surprises, so I'm not
going to go into detail here.
I never like seeing a movie that shows such promise nearly destroy
itself by such an uninspired resolution. The Thirteeth Floor is
regardless a respectable movie (although, for the record, I was
originally going to go with a much less enthusiastic **1/2, until I
found myself thinking about the movie more during that same night) but
it could easily been truly excellent -- it could have been the best
movie of the year. But it's not, and The Matrix holds on to that dubious
distinction.
©1999 Eugene Novikov‰
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Steve Kong
A film review by Steve Kong
Edited by Steve Kong
Copyright 1999 Steve Kong
What a difference time can make. Time is an important factor with The
Thirteenth Floor. And it is with time that The Thirteenth Floor fails. The
film runs too long and was released too late. These aren’t its only
failings though.
On the 13th floor of some corporate building, a project is being tested.
This ultra-secret and ambitious project allows for people to jack into a
computer-generated world. Are the people in the computer-generated world
are so real that they could come out and hurt someone in the "real" world?
The world generated by the computer is of Los Angeles around 1937.
The project is headed by Hammond (Armin Mueller-Stahl) Fuller and his right
hand man Douglas (Craig Bierko) Hall. When someone murders Fuller, an LAPD
detective, McBain (Dennis Haysbert) suspects that Hall is the murderer.
Hall has everything to gain from the death of Fuller, including the whole
company that Fuller started. But, things get more complicated as Fuller’s
daughter Jane (Getchen Mol) arrives in town to take control of the company.
The movie flips between the current time, which isn’t specified, but I take
it to be 1999, and the computer-generated 1937. And it is in these trips
back and forth that The Thirteenth Floor makes its first time based error.
The trips do not really serve much purpose, some of the travel does reveal
information, but for the most part the travel is unneeded.
The murder mystery that is at the heart of the movie is flat. The romance
that supposedly exists between Douglas and Jane fizzles. And thrill in the
movie is rather tame. There are also a few attempts at some action
sequences, but those are rather dull also.
The plot of the film is so meticulously setup that at about an hour into
the film I was able to correctly predict how the film was going to end. The
script by Josef Rusnak and Ravel Centeno-Rodriguez contain some good ideas,
but all have already been covered and done by the more exciting and
thrilling The Matrix. And because the ideas have been done before and done
better, this is where The Thirteenth Floor makes its second time based
error. The release time of The Thirteenth Floor was too late. While The
Matrix is still doing well in the theatres, why would anyone go to see the
mediocre at best The Thirteenth Floor?
The movie comes out of the production house of Roland Emmerich and Dean
Devlin, the two guys who brought us Universal Soldier, Stargate,
Independence Day, and Godzilla. Some may argue that I should have known
better. For those of you who have read my Independence Day and Godzilla
reviews, you know that I’m not a big of fan of anything that comes from
Emmerich and Devlin. (For the record though, I did enjoy Stargate). So, why
would I go see The Thirteenth Floor? One reason only: Getchen Mol.
Mol who didn’t get enough to do in Rounders also gets relegated to doing
not much in The Thirteenth Floor. That’s too bad because I think that she’s
got great talent. If only someone in Hollywood will give her something
worthwhile to work with. Mueller-Stahl is also not given enough material to
work with. He is the best actor in this film and that’s a waste of talent.
Haysbert goes over-the-top with his portrayal of Detective McBain and it
goes to his advantage. His McBain is one of the most memorable characters
of the film because of Haysbert’s performance.
As for the lead actor in the film, Bierko, that is one of the failings of
the film. Bierko, who does a mean imitation of George Clooney, is bland and
ineffective in his role. He has two types of onscreen emotions, angry or
confused. Because Bierko is the point of view of the film, him being the
weak link is a point against the film.
The one thing that I loved about the film is the cinematography. When you
look at the film you can tell that the cinematographer, Wedigo von
Schultzendorff, spent a lot of time with director, Josef Rusnak, planning
out the look of the film. The distinct look of the 1937 world compared to
the 1999 world is wonderful. The 1937 world is brown and colorless, it is
also not a perfect recreation of the 1937 Los Angeles, but one of which
Fuller remembers. The 1999 world is bluish-green and a bit more futurist
looking than being set in the 1990s. Kudos to von Schultzendorff for a
beautiful looking film.
Had The Thirteenth Floor been a shorter film and had been released a year
or two earlier, it would be a film to recommend. But, at this point, what
the film presents has been done and has been done better and there is
nothing to recommend about this film. Should you see The Thirteenth Floor?
No, don’t see on the big screen nor on video for a good movie about
alternate computer-generated realities, for that watch The Matrix. But, if
you like Gretchen Mol or want to see some beautiful looking cinematography,
then check out The Thirteenth Floor on video.
---
Steve Kong rev...@boiledmovies.sbay.com
not all film critics are the same.
i'm your hard boiled movie guide.
http://boiledmovies.sbay.com/
Jamey Hughton
**1/2 (out of five stars)
A review by Jamey Hughton
Starring-Craig Bierko, Vincent D’Onofrio, Gretchen Mol,
Armin Mueller-Stahl and Dennis Haysbert
Director-Josef Rusnak
Rated 14A
More MOVIE VIEWS by Jamey Hughton at:
http://welcome.to/movieviews
A good sci-fi is hard to come by these days. For every ingenious,
mind-boggling rarity like The Matrix, there are half a dozen idiotic
atrocities such as Virus. Where does The Thirteenth Floor come into
play? Somewhere in the middle, I should think.
During every twist and turn of this movie, you can sense the abundance
of good ideas stirring. The problem is, these ideas are never allowed to
escape, and the experience we’re left with putters along for an
incredibly hollow two-hour running time. Director Joseph Rusnak
obviously thinks that less is more. Well, in a situation like The
Thirteenth Floor, more would have definintely been appreciated.
The story involves brilliant scientist Hammond Fuller (Armin
Mueller-Stahl), who’s created a possible link to a parallel dimension; a
visual simulation that allows the user to be transported circa 1937 and
experience the old days. As we soon learn, Fuller has something very
important to tell a co-worker of his named Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko).
But before he successfully passes on the message, he is brutally stabbed
to death by an unknown assailant outside a bar. The first twenty minutes
of The Thirteenth Floor contain just the right dosage of intrigue and
paranoia, but the story soon dissipates into a jigsaw puzzle that never
gets finished. It has the right pieces, but never uses them quite right.
Yes, this film does have obvious comparisons to Dark City, eXistenZ and
The Matrix. But it’s approach is so laid-back and boring you don’t seem
to care. Even when the plot gets up into high gear (if that’s what you
want to call it), you still want it to go that extra yard.
The premise is quite intriguing, but I needed far more convincing. In
the last third, there’s an interesting sub-plot that delves into the
question of “what is reality?” Could it be possible that their world is
also a simulation, and that Fuller’s creation had already been
experimented with and they were the resulting product? Could their world
be a mere fabrication for other’s enjoyment? The Thirteenth Floor raises
so many questions, but unfortunately very few are answered for our
convenience.
The cast has a fun time playing dual, or sometimes triple roles with
this scenario. Vincent D’Onofrio plays a present day computer programmer
named Whitney, but also the tight-fisted bartender Ashton in 1937.
Gretchen Mol is unfairly wasted as a mysterious woman charading as
Fuller’s daughter, but also as a part-time clerk at a grocery store. The
one actor who plays just a single character is Dennis Haysbert,
captivating yet underused as a LAPD detective on the case.
With all of its shortcomings, it’s thankful the visual appearance of The
Thirteenth Floor is both diverting and impressive. There are marvelous
old-fashioned crane shots that cover the towering, shimmering buildings
of present day Los Angeles, and the 30’s are shown with convincing
effect.
It’s really too bad that The Thirteenth Floor couldn’t have amounted to
more. It had the potential to be a great science-fiction film. It’s
always important to have a strong premise in this sort of film, but the
payoff is even more vital. The rising action will set the audience up,
hopefully captivate them for long enough, until the much needed payoff
takes over and carries a movie to a sturdy finish. The Thirteenth Floor
has nothing of the kind.
This is not a bad film, when it comes down to it. The intelligence and
creativity are above average for the genre, the actors are competent
enough to carry the project... where, pray tell, did it all go wrong? I
believe the answer to that lies within the director’s choice to
completely ignore the third (and most important) act. The material here
would have gone a long way, if the movie was about 30 minutes long.
(C) 1999, Jamey Hughton
.....................
"New HomePage Look"
and More
MOVIE VIEWS at:
http://welcome.to/movieviews
.....................
David Sunga
Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 4.0)
********************************
Key to rating system:
2.0 stars - Debatable
2.5 stars - Some people may like it
3.0 stars - I liked it
3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie
4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out
*********************************
A Movie Review by David Sunga
Directed by: Josef Rusnak
Written by:
Josef Rusnak and Ravel Centeno-Rodriguez, based on Daniel Galouye's novel
SIMULACRON 3
Starring: Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert,
Armin
Mueller-Stahl.
Synopsis:
Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko) has a problem. His best friend, a rich old
computer genius named Hannon Fuller (Armin Mueller-Stahl) has created a
virtual 1937 Los Angeles inside a computer simulation that is so realistic
that the computer characters think they really exist. The problem is that
Fuller has just been murdered, and all the clues point to Hall as the
murderer. Poor Hall can't remember a thing about where he was the night of
the murder despite a bloody shirt. Hall chases down a possible clue inside
the Los Angeles simulation, while trying to prevent the character
simulations from finding out that they are not real. He meets a mysterious
woman (Gretchen Mol) and tries to clear himself while exploring the new
"reality."
Opinion:
The trouble with THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR is that it's a concept movie.
Characters go through long dialogues passing movie minutes until the film's
ending delivers the big "surprise" revelation. Unfortunately, the
revelation is no surprise because this year we've seen similar "reality"
revelations from countless other virtual simulation theme movies such as
THE MATRIX.
I can recommend the beautifully done cinematography; 1937 Los Angeles is a
visual feast. But there's not enough danger and the end is predictable.
It's hard to pay full attention to THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR for more than half
an hour no matter how wonderfully the visuals are rendered.
Reviewed by David Sunga
June 7, 1999
Copyright © 1999 by David Sunga
This review and others like it can be found at
THE CRITIC ZOO: http://www.criticzoo.com
email: zook...@criticzoo.com